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Engine dynamometer testing was performed comparing E10, E20, and
E30 splash-blended fuels in a Ford 3.5L EcoBoost direct injection
(DI) turbocharged engine. The engine was tested with compression
ratios (CRs) of 10.0:1 (current production) and 11.9:1. In this
engine, E20 (96 RON) fuel at 11.9:1 CR gave very similar knock
performance to E10 (91 RON) fuel at 10:1 CR. Similarly, E30 (101
RON) fuel at 11.9:1 CR resulted in knock-limited performance
equivalent to E20 at 10:1 CR, indicating that E30 could have been
run at even higher CR with acceptable knock behavior.

The data was used in a vehicle simulation of a 3.5L EcoBoost
pickup truck, which showed that the E20 (96 RON) fuel at 11.9:1 CR
offers 5% improvement in U.S. EPA Metro-Highway (M/H) and US06
Highway cycle tank-to-wheels CO₂ emissions over the E10 fuel, with
comparable volumetric fuel economy (miles per gallon) and range
before refueling. The results also indicated that the E30 (101 RON)
fuel at 11.9:1 CR provides improvements in CO₂ emissions of 5% on
the EPA M/H cycle and 7.5% on the US06 Highway cycle, while
volumetric fuel economy was 3% lower on the M/H cycle and
approximately equal on the US06 Highway cycle, compared to the
baseline E10 fuel at 10:1 CR.